The Computer Thread

Did you try to log in with the default Administrator user? There are also linux boot images which can activate and/or reset the default admin password if you can't log into it.

Or did you maybe accidentally set your keyboard layout to something different?

Still doesn’t seem to be working. I might just have to deliver this to Best Buy for them to fix it.

Has anyone experienced any of the following in Chrome?

1. Be unable to open folders within a certain directory while either in the "Save As" or "Open" windows, as the window and even Chrome itself freeze up indefinitely after double-clicking or right-clicking any of the folders within said directory.

2. When downloading a file, be unable to save the file to a particular location because you allegedly lack administrator privileges. And even when you choose to save it elsewhere, you cannot move the file to the aforementioned desired location until you rename it (even if the only difference is adding or removing a character).

The latter I suspect had to do with my antivirus (Adaware) having a rare moment where it registered a false positive on the executable file that I had been downloading, which a bit of searching revealed is a rather frequent problem due to the way the executable in question is made (it's a Python thing). It doesn't explain the first problem, though.

I was wondering if Handbrake is good for converting videos .avi,.wmv to .mp4 files that still keep the same quality? Or even better make the quality a little better?

Well, it's a transcoding tool, so it's good for converting, yes, and with the right settings you shouldn't really lose much (if any) perceptible quality (some will always be lost via compression, which only gets worse if you're going from lossy format to lossy format). However, nothing will give you more quality, since that would require data the original file won't have. More quality for a given filesize is entirely possible, though maximising that will take a long time unless you've got a really powerful CPU.

I have an odd problem with my speakers where they produce a low monotone tone that increases when I increase the volume. It even happens while sound on the PC is muted. It does disappear when the PC is off, though. What is this noise, and can it be fixed?

Edited by Redmess on May 3rd 2021 at 5:49:53 PM

Sounds like some sort of interference or crosstalk with the actual speaker wires.

Ok, I traced it to my mouse cable. I bought a KVM switch, where you plug the keyboard, video, and mouse cables in one block to run two systems. I noticed the sound disappeared when switching to the (currently not plugged in) other system, and when I remove the mouse cable (USB). I tried a second identical mouse, and it produces the same tone, and a different one which produces a quieter tone. I also tried a wireless one which didn't produce a tone at all.

I got this computer today. Is it any good? Anyone have any experience with Acer computers? I plan on using it to surf the web and watch streams.

I ask because I've heard of Acer products breaking soon after purchase, and I've heard horror stories about Acer's customer service.

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-TC-895-U.../dp/B088X2YR3X

For basic web browsing and video watching, it's pretty far beyond what you need, it'll be fine. The only thing that could really fail would be the PSU; you probably only have cooling fans to worry about and that's a CPU that's not going to be under heavy load, it should be fine.

I had an Acer laptop for a few years, didn't have any problems with it (I still have it but it's in an office I haven't been able to get to since March last year...)

Edited by RainehDaze on May 4th 2021 at 7:21:39 PM

Verizon to sell off Verizon Media, which includes AOL, Yahoo, Engadget, and Techcrunch for US$5 billion.

Heard a buzzing noise when I turned on my computer, so turned it off and on several times.

Pretty sure it's not the HDD, because my computer has an SSD.

Computer's barely a month old. There's no way something's wrong with it already.

Heard the buzzing sound again today.

Fans, probably. My desktop PC has had a fan making a very loud noise on startup for quite a while. I haven't had the energy to pull it open and see what's going on. It seems to reset in its bearings after a short time and run okay.

Even healthy fans can be noisy at startup, probably because the CPU is very busy.

No, it's because the default state when you turn it on is "power the fans"—it's something that happens a lot when troubleshooting putting a computer together. The GPU fans and CPU fan (and, if it's in a case, any other connected fans) will be powered to prevent component damage (or overheating interrupting the boot process) even if there's an error in the boot process and it can't get to BIOS. Once things are started up, it loads the normal fan profile which doesn't set the fans to 100%.

Seriously, "turning the computer on" is not computationally intensive. It's doing basically nothing at that point in comparison to once the OS has loaded.

As for buzzing, could be cheap fans, could just be coil whine, could be a zip tie or something that is inexplicably close to a fan. You'd have to open it up and see if you can pinpoint it exactly.

Edited by RainehDaze on May 4th 2021 at 9:48:10 AM

Oh, I see, I assumed they meant after startup.

Should I worry about it, or is my computer probably fine?

If you can, you should open up your case while the computer powers on (or wakes up) and observe the fans to see if you can determine which is responsible for the noise. Use compressed air to blow out any dust, make sure there are no obstructions. If the fan rotates normally, noise or no, then it's probably okay for now. Make a mental note to have it serviced. If the fan doesn't rotate or if you can't identify which one is the problem, consider having it serviced soon.

Well, my case has holes in the side where you can see the inside, and I don't see any dust or abnormalities in the fan.

If you want to find what's making the noise, you use your ears, not your eyes.

Seriously, though, you should remove the side panel and see if you can hear it (and you need to do that every so often to clean the computer anyway; dust buildup won't really be a problem but it would make any existing cooling issues worse and make fans louder).

Heard the buzzing noise again.

I don't know if I'm just not used to the differences between my new computer and my old computer that I had for 7-8 years. I'm not used to there being less of a delay between when you press the power button and when the computer turns on, for example.

My Laptop hinges are falling apart due to damage but I cannot to fix it. I have no money.

End of life for Internet Explorer 11 is on June 15th, 2022.

I expect it to respond to that information some time in around 2025.

I like Edge's vertical tabs.

Funny, I found a program last week that attempted to install IE 16 or something like that.